Forums > Contributor Zone > RotW // 11th December – 17th December // The “I’ve Stuck Myself Doing This For Another Year” Edition

Blurgh.

JUST OUTSIDE THE THREE: Eradicator [PC] by Bouchart

The first half of this review is great, talking about a little known shooter that’s so little known I did not know about it. But the last third or so just becomes an undisguised list, which is a shame. Brilliant source material, though


THIRD Caster [PC] by Joe

My preferred Joe review of his trio of efforts was Caster. So let’s talk about that. It’s one of those bash reviews that tries to be all even and fair handed that I couldn’t write at gunpoint. Joe casually dismantles the game, painting it as bland, unimaginative and incomplete. This is pretty damning stuff. Calling the enemy type pesky is a clever way to offhandedly castrate them. Describing how they’re either self-destructive or cheap proves your point.

Even though it might be by complete accident, props for the screens choice. You talk about a game world being barren and empty, which is exactly what those screens show. I kind of want them to be personally selected by you but, at the same time, I always want them to be the ones the developer has handpicked to try and sell their game with.

SECOND Secret of Mana [SNES] Follow_Freeman

I smiled the first time you used a cut-away snarky short sentence if your opening paragraphs (the “that’ll happen” aside, to be clear) but by the time you get through the first third of your review, it seems a tad overused. Your review certainly opens up more once you move away from that, and you make a series of succinct points well in rapid fire progression.

It’s a good review and a very strong debut effort; the world of Secret of Mana is expertly written as whole rather than divided into little “the graphics are/the sound is.” It’s a bit stiff in places, but it manages to work through a lot of information quickly and in an interesting way. I’ve seen people bog themselves down trying to overly describe outside of the norm battle engines, for instance, and trying to describe the 16bit MMO-lite engine could has caused issues, but didn’t.

I really like this review; not just for the above, bit for mainly how you try and sell the game as an experience, wrapping it all up in a very strong conclusion. Especially since you’re not afraid to shy away from detailing one of Mana’s rough spots, even though it potentially harms the argument you’re making. Welcome aboard/keep them coming.

pity WIN for still owning a mac Avadon 2 [MAC] by OD

Robbington’s last stab at reviewing an Avadon game that I read saw him ripping off Jericho’s list but winning his week comfortably with a very engaging review. It was maybe the best thing he’d written all year. I don’t think this one hits the same heady heights, but it’s still a very fine review. Which is just as well; he needs points on the board if he’s not going to slip off the Site King scoreboard into obscurity.

Rob runs a narrative over his review, giving you glimpses of the adventures he’s had within an adventure, and it’s written strongly enough to retain even my interest. It’s interesting stuff to talk about, but he doesn’t mind segueing out to talk about those pesky gameplay elements and peeves, like how all the choices from the last game mean nothing. He even, hilariously, alludes to the fact that it’s the opposite of Mass Effect in that regard. Rob’s either funnier than I thought or hasn’t got to ME3 yet. Or like how the game’s managed to find a fantasy version of a rigger. That’s pretty cool.

After all those stiflingly similar mobile RPGs, it seems like you’ve grasped this chance to write about something a little less suffocating. It’s been a tight week, but it’s got you the win.

Don’t forget to carry my review over -- that’s a thing you do!

For us. For them. For you.

Thanks for the win! And, yes I've played ME 3. And in comparison, it pays 100 percent attention to your decisions, even if paying attention means saying "So, you killed the big beast in the first game? Well, giant clone from out of nowhere in 3!!!!!" Avadon simply has its narrative and if your actions in one game go against it, well, they didn't happen. Hell, I didn't even mention the funniest due to spoiler stuff. In short...

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Spoiler buffing in case anyone cares.

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One of your main missions in the first game eventually sets you against the leader of that area. When you corner him, you get the usual "side with him or side with Avadon" choice with him being reasonably sympathetic if not for the whole "tried to set his army upon you" deal.

Then, in the second game, you get a side quest where a secret police kind of group has found evidence that person is up to something again. At the end of that short quest chain, you get to meet that guy again. If you killed him in the first game, you don't even get a half-assed explanation as to how he's back. I guess it's really the same as the pro/anti Redbeard choice at the end, but it was more jarring to me because I did kill the dude and there he was, continuing to fight the good fight against Avadon.

I'm not afraid to die because I am invincible
Viva la muerte, that's my goddamn principle

I'm glad you enjoyed my review! I wanted to make sure anyone trying the game wouldn't be surprised by its shortcomings, but I was worried about undermining my own points by doing so. Good to hear that apparently wasn't the case and that people enjoyed my review! I'm also very grateful for the constructive criticism and will try to improve upon those aspects in the future. What a great experience this is!

Also, congrats to the other reviewers! I learned something new from each while being entertained as well!

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Film reviews: https://letterboxd.com/Follow_Freeman/

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